In the manufacture of integrated circuits a number of high temperature processes are employed to grow oxide layers on the silicon substrates. These take place in quartz lined high temperature furnaces. Oxidations which must be grown quickly are usually preformed in a steam ambient which is created by burning hydrogen in oxygen within the furnace itself. This can lead to temperature control instabilities since burning hydrogen generates appreciable amounts of heat. Pyrogenic heating is especially bad in large diameter furnaces which must be purged with high gas flows to prevent atmospheric backsteaming.
One solution to this dilemma has been to locate the hydrogen burner outside of the furnace tube which eliminates the unwanted heat from the furnace. A number of these furnaces already exist in the industry but their complexity and cost have led to limited acceptance. The major reason is that such burners utilize a separate burn chamber which has its own ignition system with temperature and safety controls.